Coming soon…

Ah, cats. I have two. Yet I wish I could have all of them enveloped in a furry cocoon of love. Just pile them on me and crush my body with cats. Then I will die a happy woman. Cats might seem tough and uninterested on the outside, but inside they’re just squishy balls of devotion. I love how they can gracefully recover from the derpiest fall. I love how they can stare at you with all the hate in the world (especially when going to the vets), yet 5 mins after getting home, they will tolerate being in the same rooms as you. Oh how I love ALL CATS IN THE WORLD.

You might remember my blogpost last year about volunteering at the Animal Animal Anti Cruelty League in Cape Town. Being able to meet all those gorgeous furries and having a hand in helping them get adopted, made me realise that I can use my photography powers for a greater cause. There are so many gorgeous, ‘unwanted’ pets just looking for a warm and loving home. So when I got back to Amsterdam, I made a point of contacting the local Animal Shelter right away. Turns out, they’re always looking for volunteers and this obviously made me squeal with the joy of a thousand rainbows. But they also constantly need people to help out with daily tasks like petting the animals and cleaning cages. In short, they were over the moon and wanted me to start as soon as possible.

I’ve been there since March and it has become my happy place. I LOVE hanging out with the cats, talking to them and telling them how good they’re looking in their photos. I hug them, pet them, play with them and tell them inspirational things like: “You are worthy of love, feline friend. When the right person comes along, you will know. Just be your charming self and don’t poop on floor.”

However, with the good, comes the sad. Also needing love and special attention, are the kitties who don’t adjust well to new environments, have been traumatised in some way (like coming from homes where they had to share with 30 other cats!) or just not accustomed to humans at all. Even with all the love and care the shelter provides, it will never be a place where they will truly be at home. Sometimes these special souls get overlooked and tend to stay longer than they should. The great thing about going to the shelter every few weeks though, is that I can see these kitties come out of their shell and bloom. Not all are a lost cause, and it sometimes just takes a bit of patience and care to see the their true potential.

So, that being said, I would love to share with you some of my absolute favourite shots of the cats of Amsterdam’s Animal Shelter. So far anyways. I will also note which cats are still up for adoption. So you can head on over to the website and make an appointment right away!

PS: If this breaks your heart, please don’t be sad. These kitties are very well looked after, but the Shelter does require resources such as food, blankets, toys and special medical care. Make a difference and DONATE WHATEVER YOU CAN to help these furries find a loving furever home.

But sitting here, writing about all these amazing people, I just sometimes run out of superlatives and my brain becomes mush and I type things like “stuff”. That stuff being a tsunami of love and gorgeousness oozing from every smile and secret glances. Yes, stuff.

So Ewout and Irene are probably some of my oldest Dutch friends. We hang out, we sit in circles, we bbq and we do photoshoots 🙂 At the time of the photoshoot they were expecting their first baby boy and were so excited! I knew even back then that they will be the kind of parents who will do anything for their kid. Like make their house baby-ready a year in advance. Like taking random days off work just to be with him. Like walking through the fiery pits of hell just so that their child doesn’t have to go without a binky for 2 seconds. I got it right, since that’s the kind of parents they are now.

I met little Tex a few weeks ago and couldn’t help but notice saw how they couldn’t keep their eyes off him! It’s always strange / funny / intriguing to see your friends change into parents (especially if you haven’t jumped on the baby wagon yourself), but now that I see them with their little boy…I can’t imagine it being any other way.

I always picture my own wedding at a camping site. No muss, no fuss, just the people who love us most. That and some good bonfires, alcoholic beverages and hopefully one of my friends playing guitar. Disclaimer: I am NOT that cool that I have friends who play the guitar. Instead I’m hoping some of them learn to play before my wedding. Thanks friends. Keeping this in mind, you can imagine my pure and utter joy when fellow photog Hanke Arkenbout and I went to Campingsite De Lievelinge for a…FESTIVAL CAMPING WEDDING! Uh yes, this is my dream and yes I may have freaked out about every single thing happening that day because everything was so amaze and I just wanted to die.

See, this was no ordinary festival camping wedding. No, this was a surprise wedding. But instead the bride and groom had no idea that they were getting married! They thought they were going to have a relaxing weekend with friends. Lol, friends were like “computer says no”. Read the less horrible explanation HERE.

Anyways, as the day progressed, I starting understanding why this couple got such a stunning wedding from their friends. They are super gorgeous, attentive, loving and humble and all I wanted to do was hug them. I’m not a hugger. Above all, they kept asking me if I was ok and if I needed anything. I’ve known them for all of 2 seconds, yet I still think “naw” when I look at these photos.

This was no doubt one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had and I feel so lucky to have been part of it! Fuck yeah.

I don’t meet a lot of Nadines., but when I do, we become best friends and talk about how cool Nadines are.

When I was in South Africa (more specifically Cape Town), I met another talented photographer also called Nadine. Before this, I really hated meeting new people. The awkward inquisition, the moment you realize you have nothing in common, and that gut-wrenching time when you have to say goodbye. Thanks to my limited social skills, it always goes like something like: “Let’s do this again! I had such a great time!” to which I reply “Thank you, you too!”.I’m horrible at casual conversation, especially talking about the weather. It’s fucking hot, raining or cloudy. What else is there to say? Let’s talk about the meaning of life, food and cats or how hard adulthood is, and I will like you forever.

The latter is exactly what happened when I met Nadine! Not only do we have shit tons in common, we also share the same twisted sense of humor, hate being adults and love cats. Nadine is such a free and fun spirit and every time I see her I immediately feel my own mood turning into a unicorn rainbow. Glitter shoots out windows and a punk-rock band starts playing songs of my youth, it’s amazing. Needless to say we made a photo date and screeched around the streets of Stellenbosch in Nadine’s magical rustbucket, in search of that gorgeous African light.

This is straight from my May newsletter…but I got so many hilarious reactions, I thought I’d post it here as well.

A few days ago, Stefan and I went to the McDonalds. While we were enjoying our dinner of sugar, fat and carbs, I spotted a young couple sitting a few tables away. How did I know they have only recently started dating? In the 10 minutes it took us to gulp down our food, theirs remained untouched.

That got me thinking about the differences between us (a couple who have been together for 9 years), and those who have just started dating.

EATING

JUST STARTED DATING: Hugging, kissing, cuddling while the food remains a sidenote of their epic love story

TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS: I’m eating. Touch me and I will cut you.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION

JUST STARTED DATING: I have to go tinkle (but as a woman, newly in love, I don’t piss and I definitely DON’T fart. Ever.)

TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS: Lover, I had the best poop today. Let me describe it to you in detail.

GOING OUT

JUST STARTED DATING: Woo! night out! We must declare our love to the world and party all night with our fantastic friends.

TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS: Ugh, why do we have friends? I just want to watch Netflix and eat pizza with you in bed.

GROTESQUERIES

JUST STARTED DATING: It took me about an hour to perfectly cover up this zit and make it look like a beauty spot.

TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS: I have a juicy zit on my back. Please do me the honour of popping it

PERSONAL HYGIENE

JUST STARTED DATING: Date night! I showered, shaved both legs (all the way up), washed my hair, doused myself in perfume and even double-brushed my teeth with some breath mints for later.

TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS: Please smell the armpit section of my shirt, and let me know if I can wear it for the 3rd consecutive day. Also, I’m not planning on showering today or tomorrow.

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I had so many creative adventures in South Africa. And I suppose if one is to have many creative adventures, South Africa would be a good place to have them. When I was there, I kind of became obsessed with doing an African shoot. I already had a gorgeous traditional bride in front of my lens. But what about just toning it down a bit for a shoot? Enter Beverly. Old school-friend and model extraordinaire!

I asked her to dress in her most colourful African clothes and holy shit did she deliver! This shoot basically had everything I ever dreamed of having: lot’s of color, sunshine and a subject who was literally willing to risk her life for a good photo (by lying in the middle of the road… thanks Bev!).
I think it’s important to do more shoots celebrating different kinds of culture. I really want to push myself to make images of normal people being extra-ordinary. In my opinion, that’s the extreme power we hold as photographers.

Portrait photographer Amsterdam | Pretoria | Portrait photoshoot

Looking back these photos I cant help but miss everything about South Africa. After growing up there and subsequently exploring every inch of it, I can still be dumbstruck by its beauty. These photos were taken in the Ceder Mountains on South Africa’s West Coast. My parents and I were driving down to Cape Town and after exploring the desert landscape of the Northern Cape, we decided to stop over in the mountains (which included an outside bath and a “holy shit is this real life?” view).

I can’t really tell you much else about these photos, except that I was hoping for a spectacular sunrise that morning, and instead got a magical cloud formation that looks like a strawberry milkshake. I couldn’t ask for more.